Apple
Cider

In recent years we have received a surprising amount
of inquiries from customers seeking information and trees for making
European-style hard cider. We are not experts on this subject and have
no experience turning sweet apple juice into an alcoholic beverage -
except by accident. So we hesitate to offer advice or encouragement,
expecially when a commercial venture is being contemplated...

What we can provide are trees and/or benchgrafts of 29 tradiitonal
European cider varieties for apple growers wishing to experiment. Most
of our foundation scionwood was originally obtained from Washington State
University's Experiment Station at Mount Vernon, as well as from the
National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Apples at Geneva, NY.

Dr. Jackie King and her staff at Mount Vernon have
pioneered in the testing of European cider varieties, continuing a project
begun by Dr. Robert Norton back in 1979. Their Annual Report 2003: Evaluation
of Apple Cultivars for Hard Cider Production provides valuable information
for anyone contemplating serious cider-making. This report may be accessed
through the W.S.U. website (http://mtvernon.wsu.edu -
clickon
Fruit Horticulture).

During the 17th century, Herefordshire, in the
English' West Country', became famous for the quality and quantity
of its fermented apple cider. This reputation was mainly predicated
on the Redstreak variety, now rare, but still an excellent bittersharp
for the home cider orchard... Illustrated by Robert Hogg (1818-1897),
scab warts and all.

OTHER CIDER APPLE VARIETIES

With their complex mixture of sweet, sharp, and bitter elements, the
traditional European cider varieties have proven themselves the ultimate
apples for this purpose. Unfortunately, most of them are not very good
for other uses, particularly fresh eating. So cider-making at this level
demands a serious commitment.

We recently were privileged to obtain from a fruit explorer colleague
in West Virginia two legendary early American cider varieties: Hewe's
Virginia Crab, a favorite of Thomas Jefferson and Harrison's
Cider, a famous New Jersey apple previously thought to be lost.
Rumor has it that the Taliafero - another of Jefferson's preferred cider
apples long thought to be extinct - has been re-discovered. This has
been a Holy Grail for fruit variety collectors; we will keep our customers
posted on developments......

Of course, any apple variety can be pressed into cider.
American cider has always relied on a blend of several varieties . Some
apples favored by old-time cider makers include American Pippin,
Baldwin, Bullock, Esopus Spitzenberg, Golden Russet,
Roxbury Russet, Smith Cider, Sops of Wine, Wagener, and Winesap.
These varieties would generally fall in the "Sweet" or "Sweet-Sharp" categories.
Likewise, high-flavored European culinary and dessert varieties like
Ashmead'sKernel, Bramley's Seedling, Court Pendu
Plat, and Egremont Russet are very suitable
for cider blends. And while most modern varieties are a bit bland for
great cider, Etter apples like Waltana,Katharine,
and Etter's Gold can hold their own with the older heirlooms.

Three hybrid "crabs": Atalanta™,
Etter's Gold, and Dolgo

The main fault with varieties listed above is a deficiency in the bitter,
tannic element. Indeed, connoisseurs have frequently criticized American
hard cider for lacking the body and savor that derives from tannin. In
the old days, the bitter component could be acquired from the "wild" seedling
apples and crabs that sprouted up all over the American landscape. Henry
David Thoreau's essay Wild Apples documents the qualities of
these feral fruits for cider blending .

To affirm his championship of small apples and crabs, Thoreau cited
the British horticulturalist John Claudius Loudon (1783-1843) on the
subject of cider:

" No wonder that these small and high-colored apples
are thought to make the best cider. Loudon quotes from the Herefordshire
Report that 'Apples of a small size are always, if equal in quality,
to be preferred to those of a larger size, in order that the rind
and kernel may bear the greatest proportion to the pulp'...."

From Wild Fruits 1859 by Henry David Thoreau
(1817-1862)

Nowadays, cider-makers can utilize crab varieties for adding the tannic
element to their blend. Dolgo Crab, for instance, works
well as a "Bitter -Sharp". Even more astringent and acidic
is Niedzwetzkyana a.k.a. Redvein Crab; its deeply pigmented
red flesh adds some color to the blended cider. We also recommend the
Etter crab hybrids for fine cider and "apple wines". Wickson
Crab, of course, was introduced for this purpose. Some of the Sweetmeat
Crab ™ Hybrids like Eden™ and Muscat
de Venus™ may be regarded as "vintage" varieties
capable of producing a fine beverage without blending.